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Defence Secretary reveals MoD 'serious departmental error' which put thousands of Afghans at risk.mp4

01:43

Defence Secretary admits MoD ‘serious departmental error’ put thousands of Afghans at risk

Defence secretary John Healey has admitted a “serious departmental error” within the Ministry of Defence put hundreds of thousands of Afghans at risk.

Speaking to MPs in parliament on Tuesday (15 July), Mr Healey revealed that a leaked spreadsheet which contained the details of 25,000 Afghan asylum applicants, as well as MPs and senior military officers, was mistakenly sent out in February 2022.

He said: “This was a serious departmental error. It was in clear breach of strict data protocols.”

Details of a relocation scheme following the breach which involved over 16,000 Afghans at a cost of £6billion were released today after the lifting of a superinjunction.

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